GHS Wreadin Writin n Wreminiscin From the Editor s Desk 22 November 2003

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1 GHS Wreadin Writin n Wreminiscin From the Editor s Desk 22 November 2003 George DEVOL. New Canaan. CT Gdevol3@aol.com Well I finally did it. Sold my new sletter about cruises and I m officially retired. Wanted to do it at 55, but hey at least I made it before 60. I m looking forw ard to working on my cars and driving them around places in the U.S. It also gives me more time to add some material for Mac s effort to keep the spirit of GHS-62 alive and w ell. Here s the first piece. Growing Up in Greenwich in the 1950s I w as fortunate to be born and raised in Greenw ich and to attended school from grades K-12 A while back, Mac suggested w e write about w hat w e remember about grow ing up in Greenw ich. In looking back it s remarkable how much has changed. My recollections might not be 100% accurate (please let me know if you recall differently). I remember that there w ere only three chain stores on Greenw ich Ave - Woolw orth s, Grants and the A&P back when I started kindergarten at Julian Curtis in 1949 (can you believe that it w as that long ago!). Today it is the exact opposite as I think there are only three stores still in business that w ere there in the late 50s - Betteridge Jew elry, Grannick s Phar macy, and Subw ay Barber shop. So much for progress. We lived on Brookside Dr ive (north of the Post Road side) so it w as easy to walk to the Avenue Unlike those w impy kids of today, w ho can barely make it to the end of their drivew ay (their mommies drives them) to catch the school bus. Starting in first grade, on many days; I w ould w alk home from Julian Curtis, sometimes w ith my older sister Chr is (GHS 1959), but many times by myself, crossing busy streets and the Post Road (w hich in the pre-turnpike days w as a mess, w ith trucks and traffic). I w ould guess the distance w as about 1½ to 2 miles. In reflecting back, I think that Greenw ich in the late 40 s and early 50 s, w as pretty much w hat it had been like in the late 20 s and 30 s in appearance. Little had been built or altered during the depression and w ar years, and it wasn t until about the mid 1950 s, w hen a number of things began to change.

2 See how many of these things (landmarks of our age), you can remember; as I take a Virtual Walk from Brookside Drive, up the Post Road ( Putnam Avenue), to the top of Greenw ich Avenue and dow n. (Editor s Note: If you w ant to follow the current status of the real estate along this route, a virtual tour can be made at the follow ing website: ichchamber.com/map/map.htm Just click on any number on the map and the stores in that area, w ill be listed.) Where Brookside Drive met the Post Road there was a traffic light, that truck drivers hated as it was right in the middle of the hill. That stretch of the Post Road from Brookside Drive to Deerfield Road and Field Point Road w as all private homes. Nice large ones w ith a lot of character. Today they are all gone, replaced by office buildings or food stores. On the other corner of Deerfield Dr and the Post Road w as Franklin Simons Department Store. Later it became Oppenheim Collins Department Store, before it eventually became the Greenw ich Library. Next door to it w as a bow ling alley, w hich later became a Cadillac Dealership, and even later; w as torn dow n to become parking for the Greenw ich Library. Across the street w as a large piece of land w ith an old very large house that was turned into apartments, but still retaining a lot of class and style. Today, on that property in the U.S. Tobacco building. Next to it (w orking tow ards the Avenue) was the Maples Hotel. Built in the late 1800s (my guess) it w as a classic style old turn of the century hotel. It w as always w ell maintained. Today it has been replaced by the modern headquarters for Cheesboro Ponds (unless someone else now occupies it). After a series of small stores, there w as one of my favorites, the Pickw ick Theater. Many Saturdays w ere spent here. The movies w ere never first run, but w hat difference did it make if you never saw it. It used to cost $.10 on Saturdays if you were under 12, and $.25 if you w ere over 12. On the other side of the Post Road w as Minchin Buick (Hank Minchin, GHS 61 still ow ns it, but is now located in Stamford). Behind it was a large wooden building w hich for a long period of time w as an ice house w hich stored ice, that w as cut from the large pond w here the current GHS is located. The top of Greenw ich Ave was dominated by the classic Pickw ick Arms Hotel. I think it was a big loss to the character of Greenw ich, when this magnificent hotel w as torn dow n. One of the first stores on the avenue w as Nielsen s Ice Cream parlor. Same family that built the restaurant near the high school. Across the street was Mark s Brothers Stationary (still there I think, but not the same people or ambiance) This was always a favorite for me on Sundays w hen my father w ent to get the paper - a comic book and candy w as my goal. Continuing dow n on the left side and a little dow n on Lew is street w as the Grand Union - the pre-supermar ket one where all the goods w ere behind the counter and w ere gathered for you by the clerk. I also recall in that section from there to Mason Street and Milbank Avenue I remember many times seeing milk from Round

3 Hill Far ms being delivered in a horse-draw n wagon! (You had to be careful w here you walked). There w as also an open vegetable truck that made the rounds there. Back on the avenue there w as Dow ne s where we would buy 45 rpm records and a few shops down w as Veaudry s drug store and then Greenw ich Drug Store ( I w orked at each for a short time). Across the street was Rexall s Drug w here I remember they had the best root beer floats - Hire s Root Beer right out of the barrel. It later became the Sport Shop (w here I also w orked at one time). Next to Greenw ich Drug and dow n the alley, w as Allen Brothers Cadillac - a multi-story dealership w here cars had to go up and dow n an elevator to get to the different floors. Back on the other side and in the same block w as Woolw orth s and Grant s 5 & 10. These w ere alw ays a favorite as a kid because they seemed to have everything. Next to Grant s w as the Greenw ich Library, a beautiful stone building that had the classic look of a library. Another victim of the times it is now a store (Saks 5 th Ave, I think). Going dow n and around the corner on Elm Street in the building just before w hat is now a parking lot for the avenue, w as a small bow ling alley. I think it only had about 6 lanes and it cost $.25 a game to play - no w onder it went out of business! Heading dow n the next block w as D. W. Rogers Department Store w hich closed only a few years ago. Dow n a little further was Grannick s Pharmacy. On the other side w as Mead s Stationary and next to it (almost) w as the Green Witch, an after school hangout for the pre-1960 GHS kids. Our choice w as usually Nielsen s. The next block started w ith the Post Office, which is still there and across the street on the corner was Finch s Drug Store, now a Starbucks (wee, bid deal) next to it w as (and is) the Subw ay Barber shop, then

4 Greenw ich Hardw are (now something else) a true hardw are store where someone knew where everything w as. Near it w as a real oldtime drug store, soda shop (right near w here the big clock is). Kind of dark, high ceiling, granite counter - the kind you alw ays imagine as an old-time soda fountain. Dow n from it w as the Motor Post, an auto supply store. Across the street was the A&P, the Greenw ich Movie Theater (w hich was closed for a while, but then re-opened). It seemed to run a lot of B flicks that never made it anyw here else. Next to it was a Stationary store. Across the side street (can t remember the name) w as the Star Restaurant w hich w as run by Ed Nicosia s (GHS 1961) parents. On the other side w as the Faw cett Publications building and dow n from it the Greenw ich Food Store. I don t remember too many others in that block, but going dow n further and under the RR br idge w as Maher Brothers (where the new hotel that replaced the Show boat is located) w hich was a coal and cement operation. Dow n from it on the other side w as and is Manero s Steakhouse ( ). One of the last family-ow ned businesses in Greenw ich. A little further dow n, where a large office building is now located w as a big red w ooden building on the w ater. The company here w as named Sea Bees and they built s mall minesw eepers and boats for the Navy during the w ar. Of course to end up this tour by stopping off at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club at the base of Steamboat Road.

5 One last place that needs mentioning is on Church Street and that is Peabody s Automobiles. It too, Like Manero s is still under the same family-ow nership since the turn of the century. I recently ran into Dave Peabody (third generation) w ho told me the building used to be a carriage and stable establishment. His grandfather later became the Packard dealer and eventually became just a used car dealer. I think the reason it has survived is for a couple of reasons. First they ow n the building, but second and most important is that they are 100% honest and caring about the cars they sell. In college I w orked at Greenw ich Auto Supply and delivered parts there. Peabody s w as the only dealer in tow n that totally w ent through each car they sold w ith new brakes, tune-up, and w hat ever was needed for it to last a long time. Next time I ll cover some of my memories of friends and schoolmates of the 1950s. I d like to hear about others w ho also grew up in central Greenw ich during the 50s and w hat they remember.